MONROE - Like a big sister schooling a scrappy younger sibling in a pick-up game of hoops, the Monroe girls basketball team used a definitive size advantage to power its way to a 68-52 win over Milton on Tuesday night.
Monroe (2-0, 1-0 Badger South) routed a short-handed Milton team playing without three starters due to injury and an athletic code violation.
With the tallest player in the Red Hawks' lineup being 5-feet, 9-inches, 6-foot junior Ashley Hermanson had a size advantage down low, which the Cheesemakers exploited. Hermanson scored the Cheesemakers' first six points to spark a 12-0 first-quarter run.
Hermanson had a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds).
"We had no clue they were going to go with their smaller lineup," Hermanson said. "After we knew that, we could get it inside a lot. We took it to them."
Monroe coach Kevin Keen expects every opponent's best game.
"I try to impress on the girls, we have to be ready," Keen said. "People would love nothing more than to beat Monroe."
Hermanson was one of three Cheesemakers in double figures. Monroe junior Gwen Sutter scored 10 of her 16 points in the third quarter and Jamie Armstrong added 10.
"We took advantage of what they gave us," Keen said. "All five of our starters can score in double figures. You never know who it will be each night."
The Red Hawks went almost five minutes in the first quarter without a field goal. Milton junior Amber Davis kept the Red Hawks in the game scoring 12 of her game-high 24 points in the first half.
Sutter buried two third quarter 3-pointers to ignite a 10-4 Monroe third-quarter run to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 42-26 lead. On the Cheesemakers' next possession, senior Emily Rufenacht drilled a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 49-29.
"I'm glad we started off on a good note," Sutter said.
The dominance in the paint by Hermanson in the first half opened up outside scoring opportunities. The Cheesemakers hit four of their five 3-pointers in the second half.
"Our posts see the floor very well from their positions," Sutter said. "When we came out (in the second half), we just had to bring our intensity up a little."
Keen knows if the Red Hawks had 6-foot-2 sophomore center Liz Eide, it could have been a different game.
"They are a scrappy team," Keen said. "She (Eide) would obviously make them a better ballclub. I think we did a nice job of being ready to play right out of the shoot."
Monroe (2-0, 1-0 Badger South) routed a short-handed Milton team playing without three starters due to injury and an athletic code violation.
With the tallest player in the Red Hawks' lineup being 5-feet, 9-inches, 6-foot junior Ashley Hermanson had a size advantage down low, which the Cheesemakers exploited. Hermanson scored the Cheesemakers' first six points to spark a 12-0 first-quarter run.
Hermanson had a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds).
"We had no clue they were going to go with their smaller lineup," Hermanson said. "After we knew that, we could get it inside a lot. We took it to them."
Monroe coach Kevin Keen expects every opponent's best game.
"I try to impress on the girls, we have to be ready," Keen said. "People would love nothing more than to beat Monroe."
Hermanson was one of three Cheesemakers in double figures. Monroe junior Gwen Sutter scored 10 of her 16 points in the third quarter and Jamie Armstrong added 10.
"We took advantage of what they gave us," Keen said. "All five of our starters can score in double figures. You never know who it will be each night."
The Red Hawks went almost five minutes in the first quarter without a field goal. Milton junior Amber Davis kept the Red Hawks in the game scoring 12 of her game-high 24 points in the first half.
Sutter buried two third quarter 3-pointers to ignite a 10-4 Monroe third-quarter run to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 42-26 lead. On the Cheesemakers' next possession, senior Emily Rufenacht drilled a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 49-29.
"I'm glad we started off on a good note," Sutter said.
The dominance in the paint by Hermanson in the first half opened up outside scoring opportunities. The Cheesemakers hit four of their five 3-pointers in the second half.
"Our posts see the floor very well from their positions," Sutter said. "When we came out (in the second half), we just had to bring our intensity up a little."
Keen knows if the Red Hawks had 6-foot-2 sophomore center Liz Eide, it could have been a different game.
"They are a scrappy team," Keen said. "She (Eide) would obviously make them a better ballclub. I think we did a nice job of being ready to play right out of the shoot."
